Resettable register



Jan. 17, 1933. R. s. WHITLOCK RESETTABLE REGISTER Filed Dec. l8. 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet l BY Mia-a7 MLATTORNEY 1933- R. s. WHITLOCK 1,894,433

RESETTABLE REGISTER Filed Dec. 18,- 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Jan. 11, 1933 1,894,433

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE RALPH G. WHITLOCK, 01' L08 ANGEL-ES, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNOR TO RALPH G. WHIT- LOCK PATENTS, 110., ms VEGAS, NEVADA, A CORPORATION OF NEVADA I BESETTABLE REGISTER Application Med December 18,- 1928. Serial No. 826,846..

My invention relates to counting devices Figs. 6 and 7 are diagrammatic cross-secand more particularly to resettable registers. tional views taken on the lines 6-6 and 7 -7 While the invention is adaptable for many of Fig. 3 and illustrating the operation. of the uses, the illustrated embodiment was espeinvention.

s cially designed for use in a postal metered Referring specifically to the drawings and 55 mail machine such as the machine shown in particularly to Figs. 1, 2 and 3, the illustrated my 00- nding application, Serial No. embodiment of my invention is included in a 312,900, ed October 16 1928, and willbe decontrol device i which is associated with a scribed in connection with this use. Shaft 5 adapted to be connected to any mech- Resettable re isters are emplo ed in countnism Such as say a device for printing e0 ing a number 0 operation or va ue units and metered postal indicia, whose eriormances the registering elements are adapted to be or cycles of operation it is desiredto count set to indicate zero or to some other value and control. The control device 4 includes after a period of service by the register or a casing 6, enclosing a frame 7 upon which after said register has counted a given total 18 supported an ascending totalizing register f it V 8 which is driven through gearing 9 by the The type of register to which my invention shaft 5. Also mounted on the frame 7 is 9. especially relates includes a series of indicia nding lesettable re ister 10 which is wheels freely rotatable on a shaft and actuatdriven through gears 11 rom the shaft 5.

an d 1; genes f i i di The descending rcsettahle meter 10 in pose arallel therewith. In order to reset cludes a series of indicia wheels 12, mounted the in 'cia wheels readily the drive pinions upon a Shaft 13 and a pinion drive mechanism u t b o d ut; of h with th wh l 14. Each of the indicia wheels 12 has a gear In order to accomplish this and yet be able 15, a notched disc 16 on one side thereof and 25 to return the inions into proper mesh with a carry-over disc 17 on the other side therethe indicia wlieels, it is necessa that the of. Supported on a shaft 18 journalled in pinions be held in alignment whilza they are the frame 7 opposite the register 10, is a conout of mesh with the indicia wheels, and that trol comb 19, having teeth 20, one of which the latter be restrained so that after they rests against the outer surface of each of the 30 have been reset the gear teeth thereon will discs 16. The shaft 18 is provided with means so be in proper alignment to receive the aligned (not shown) for locking the shaft 5 against.v pinions. rotation when the discs 16 are all so positioned It is an object of my invention to rovide that notches 25 therein are aligned opposite an improved resettable register of t e type the teeth 20 oi the comb 19 so that these finabove described. gers may be moved into the notches 25 as 85 Further objects and advantages will be shown in Fig. 6. made manifest in the following description Provided on the shaft 18 is an arm 26 and accompanying drawings in which 4 having a pin 52'? for a purpose to be described Figure 1 is a transverse sectional view hereafter. Coiled about the shaft 18 .is a 4!) taken on the line 1-1 of Fig. 2.. spring 28 (Fig. 2) which urges the comb teeth Fig. 2 is a bottom plan of a preferred em- 20 against the discs "in. bodiment of my invention, The drive pinion mechanism 14 includes a Fig. 3 is a front elevational view of my frame 30 roclrably mounted on a shaft 31 invention taken in the direction of the arrow which is rigidly secured on the frame 7. The

45 3 in Fig. 1. frame 30 includes side arms 32 and 33 Fig.

Fig. 4 is a view of a door embodied in my 5) which are connected by a cross bar 34 Fig. invention, 6) and shafts 35 and 36. Provided on the Fig. 5 is a fragmentary view similar to bar 3 1 are series of (latent springs 37, a head Fig. 2 illustrating the parts of the invention 38 of each of which is dlsposed opposrteone 50 in a difierent posltion, of the gears 15 for a purpose to be described later. Rotatable on the shaft 35 are a series of drive pinions 40, each of these pinions engaging with one of the carr -over discs 17 of a numeral wheel 12 so that or each revolution of this numeral wheel the gear 15 of the next highest numeral wheel will be turned to bring into view a new digit on said next wheel.

Slidably mounted on the shaft 36 is a pair of cam-carrying slides 45 (Figs. 2 and each of which has an upper body portion 46 and depending ends 47 and 48. Coiled about the shaft 36 between the slides 45 is a compression spring 49 which is adapted to hold these slides separated from each other. Extending from the slide ends 48 are finger lugs 50. Also provided on the slide ends 48 are pins 51 which limit the movement of the slides tods each other for a purpose to be decrmed in opposite walls of the frame 7 at opposite points therein are pairs of holes 53 and 54 (Fig. 8). Secured in lower portlons of the slide ends 47, and slidable through suitable apertures in the rockable frame arms 32 andfi are looking pins 55 which are adapted to be urged into either of the pair of holes 53 and 54 oy the spring 49. Also provlded. on the slide ends 47 are cams 58, the purpose which will be described later.

Swingable on the shaft 36 are short arms 66, free ends of which are connected by a bar 61 extending across adjacent to the pinions 40 and having a series of pinion positioning Imgers 62 provided thereon, one of which is disposed opposite each of the pinions 40. In the normal operating position of the resettable register 10, the bar 61 rests upon upper faces of the cams 58 with the jaws 62 out of contact with the pinions 40 (see Fig. 1) Extenddownwardly from bar 61 are cam pms 63 (Fig. 6) which are disposed ad acent to cam surfaces 64 of the cams 58.

Extending inward from opposite points on the frame 7 are stops 65 which are adapted to engage the bar 61 to limit downward swinging of the pinion mechanism 14.

Mounted on inner faces of the arms 32 and 33 are leaf springs 66 which bear against the arms 60 and urge these downwardly. The side arm 32 has a rearward extension 70 to which is pivotally connected a link 71 having a slot 7 2 in its upper end which is adapted to receive the pin 27 on the arm 26.

The casing 7 has a door opening 75 which is adapted to be closed by a door 76 which may be hin edly mounted on the frame 7 as shown in Fig. 1. The door 76 is adapted to be secured in closed position by a suitable lock 77.

The operation of my invention is as foliows:

The control device is particularly adapted to be set so that after a given number of revolutions of the shaft 5 this shaft will belocked against rotation until the door 76 is opened and the descending register reset. Each time the descending register is reset, the indicia wheels 12 are arranged so as to indicate the number of rotations which the shaft 5 may make before the device again locks this shaft. The notches are arranged so that this looking occurs when the descending register 10 indicates zero. That is, when zero is indicated by all the indicia wheels 12 the notches 25 are aligned to receive the comb 19 and permit the shaft 18 to turn and thereby lock the shaft 13, as shown in Fig. 6, and consequently the shaft 5.

To reset the descending register 10 and unlock the shaft 5 the proper key must be inserted in the lock 77 and the door 76 opened. The finger lugs 50 are now engaged between the thumb and forefinger and pressed together as shown in Fig. 5'so as to compress the spring 49 and withdraw the locking pins from theholes 53 in the casing 7. This move ment also brings the cam surfaces 64 against the pins 63 so as to swing the arms 60 and bar 61 upwardly, as shown in Fig. 6, so that the pinion positioning fingers '62 engage the teeth of pinions 40 and align these pinions while they are still in mesh with the gears 15. it is to be noted that at this time the spring detents 37 are out of engagement with the gears 15 as shown in Fig. 6.

After the finger lugs 50 are moved together as above described, the frame is swung downwardly about the shaft 31 to the position in which it is shown in Fig. 7 which removes the pinions from mesh with the gears 15 and swings the spring detent heads 38 into yieldable engagement with the teeth of these gears. When the drive pinions mechanism 14 is thus positioned, the pins 55 are disposed opposite the lower holes 54 formed in casing 7 so that when the finger lugs are released, these pins are urged into the holes 54 by the spring 49. At this time the finger In 50 extend into the door opening 75 (as s own in Fig. 7 by the broken line 90) so that the door 76 cannot be closed until the pinions 14 have i been returned to meshin engagement with the gears 15. When the h nger lugs 50 are released to permit the pins to extend into the holes 54, the cams 58 no longer support the pinion positioning fingers 62 in aligning engagement with the pinions 40, but these fingers are retained in this position by the stops against which end portions of the bar 61 now rest as shown in Fig. 7.

The indicia wheels 12 are now free to be manually rotated to indicate any desired number of rotations for the shaft 5. Rotation of these wheels is yieldably resisted by the detent springs 37, which keep the wheels 12 in alignment so that pinions 40 may be readily returned into mesh with the gears 15 when ever this is desired. When the wheels 12 have been properly set, the finger lugs 50 are again gripped so as to pull the pins 55 out of the holes 54 and the pinion mechanism 14 is swung back into the position in which it is shown in Fig. 6 in which the pinions 40 mesh with the gears 15. The ins 55 are now opposite the holes 53 into which these pins extend when the finger lugs 50 are released by the fingers. When the slides 45 are separated by the spring 49 the bar 61 is permitted to swing by gravity directly into its normal position, (as shown in Fig. 1) in which the fingers 62 are out of engagement with the pinions 40. The finger lugs 50 are now disposed out of the door opening 7 5 so that the door 76 may be closed and locked.

It is to be noted that when the pinion drive mechanism is swung downwardly, as shown in Fig. 7 to free the gears 15 from the pinions 40, the link 71 is moved upwardly so that the bottom of the slot 72 engages the pin 27, swings the shaft 18 to withdraw the fingers 20 from the notches 25 and thereby unlocks the disks 16 and shaft 5. When the indicia wheels 12 have been reset, the notches 25 will not be in alignment so that when the mechanism 14 is swung back into its position with the pinions 40 meshed with the gears 15, certain of the fingers 20 will contact and ride upon the peripheral surface of the discs 16 so as to retain the locking mechanism connected to the shaft 18 in non-locking position until the descending register 10 again indicates zero.

It is thus seen that I have provided a control device in which the drive pinions are brought into alignment before they are moved out of mesh with the indicia wheel gears; in which the door may not be closed until the drive pinions have been turned into mesh with these gears; and in which the drive pinions are locked in alignment while they are being moved between meshing and non-meshing positions. It is to be further noted that the same mechanism which aligns the pinions to permit resetting of the register also yieldably retains the indicia wheels against accidental rotation while the pinions are out of mesh with the indicia wheel gears and releases these wheels when the pinions are again brought into meshing relation with said gears.

It is further noted that my device embodies a control means for the register drive when the pinions are removed from mesh with the indicia wheel gears for resetting .the register.

While I have illustrated and described but a single embodiment of m invention it is understood that many modi cations might be made in this without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A register containing a frame, a shaft, a plurality of indicia wheels and gears therefor carried on said shaft, a carriage mounted on said frame, a plurality of transfer pinions fingers, bolts mounted on said carriage forengaging holes in said frame for locking said carriage in position with said transfer pinions in mesh with said gears, draw bars connected respectively to said bolts, a spring engaging said draw bars for normally holding said draw bars apart and said bolts in engagement with said holes, pins on said latch, cams on said draw bars respectively for engaging said latch pins and moving said looking fingers in looking engagement with saidv pinions before said carriage is shifted and after said pinions are withdrawn from said gears.

2. In a resettable re ister, the combination of: a frame; a sha t; a plurality of indicia wheels on said shaft having gears provided thereon; pinions adapted to mesh with said gears and actuate said wheels; a carriage on which said pinions are mounted, said carriage being shiftable on said frame to withdraw said pinions from mesh with said gears to permit said wheels to be reset; means for locking said carriage with said pinions and gears in mesh; means for releasing said lockmg means to permit shifting said carriage to unmesh said pinions and gears; a pinion latching means actuated by said lock releasing means to latch said pinions against separate rotation when said lock is released;

and means automatically preventing said latching means disengaging said pinions until said locking means is relocked.

3. In a resettableregister, the combination of: a frame; a shaft; a plurality of in dicia wheels on said shaft having gears provided thereon; pinions adapted to mesh with said gears and actuate said wheels; 8. carriage on which said pinions are mounted, said carriage bein shiftable on said frame to withdraw sai pinions from mesh with said gears to permit said wheels to be reset; means for locking said carriage with said pinions and gears 1n mesh; means for releasing said locking means to permit shifting said carriage to unmesh said pinions and gears; a pinion latching means actuated by said lock releasing means to latch said pinions against separate rotation when said lock is released; and means mounted on said carriage which engage said wheel gears to prevent their being moved accidentally while which said pinions are mounted, said carriage being shiftable on said frame to withdraw said pinions from mesh with said gears to ermit said wheels to be reset; means for 5 Ice ing said carriage with said pinions and gears in mesh; means for releasing said locking means to permit shifting said carria e to unmesh said pinions and gears; a pinion latching means actuated by said lock 19 releasing means to latchsaid pinions against separate rotation when said lock is released; and means mounted on said carriage which engage said wheel gears to prevent their being moved accidentall while said pinions are out of mesh with sai gears, said means dis en aging said wheels when said carriage is shifted to return said pinions into mesh with said gears; and means automatically preventing said latching means disengaging said 1 pinions until said locking means is relocked. 5. In a resettable register, the combination of: a casing; a door in said casing; a series of indicia wheels mounted in said casing; a. series of pinions for actuating said indicia wheels; means separate from said door for supporting said pinions; means for locking sald pinions in alignment and moving them out of mesh with said indicia wheels; and means preventing said door being closed before said pinions are returned into mesh with said wheels,

In testimony whereof, I hereunto afiix my signature this 13th day of December, 1928.

85 RALPH G. WHITLOCK. 

